


Remembering Everyone But You

by The_Shipper_Of_Heart



Series: All The Things I Should've Said [2]
Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: Courtship, M/M, Memory Loss, Someone's trying to break the boys up, more flower symbolism, snufmin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-19 00:27:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22602262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Shipper_Of_Heart/pseuds/The_Shipper_Of_Heart
Summary: A year or so after Snufkin and Moomin realized they loved one another, they began to court, already discussing marriage ideas. However, someone in the valley isn't happy with the idea, and devises a plan so one ends up forgetting the other.How far would you go to have the one you love the most remember you, even when you've become a stranger to them?
Relationships: Mumintrollet | Moomintroll/Snusmumriken | Snufkin
Series: All The Things I Should've Said [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1626274
Comments: 12
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

“You know what you ask for is quite...bold, correct?” The witch asked the cloaked figure. “There are other ways around it besides magic. For you, it should only be a last resort.” Her eyes squinted towards them. “You know nothing of how powerful it can be.”

The cloaked one nodded. “I am aware, but none will be as effective as magic. Besides, you don’t know how hard it would be to break the two apart.”

“From what I can tell and what I have seen, their bond is strong, so it will take a strong magic to ruin their love.” She searched her shelves for the correct brew. “Hmm…Fresh out. I will have to make it from scratch.” She eyed the client before her. “You are lucky I happen to have the ingredients on me. How soon do you need this?”

“As soon as I can get it is what I prefer. They are already courting, I would like to do this before they wed. Once they do, things will just become harder. I thought of doing this sooner, but they courted before I got the chance.”

“Ah, but courtship can last quite a while can’t it?”

“They already are discussing marriage ideas. I want to help Moomin avoid making a terrible mistake. I know who he is best with...and it isn’t Snufkin. The sooner, the better!”

The witch nodded and started making her brew. Though she was annoyed with the Moomin family at times as well as the small crowd of creatures that always seemed to be with them, Snufkin was an exception to her. They shared a mutual interest in relying on fate with the cards, and the mumrik was interested in her spells and brews, respecting her magic. She had heard the two were courting and was a little pleased, they seemed to go well together. Their bond was indeed strong. And as she had told the client- a bond that strong would only be broken by the strongest magic.

After a bit, the brew was ready. The witch took a vile and filled it with the concoction, handing it to the cloaked client, who studied it. “Let me guess,” they sighed. “I give it to Moomin and he falls madly in love with whoever he kisses, or lays eyes on, or-”

“Bah!” The witch groaned, turning away and flicked her wrists down. “ Love spells are so cliche and boring. This, dear child, is an amnesia brew. The one who drinks it will lose all memories of the one dearest to them.”

The client looked to the witch. “But if Moomin drinks it, won’t he forget his family? Like MoominMamma and MoominPappa?”

“No no, family connections are not affected. It only makes them forget the one they love the most romantically. Since you believe Moomin is happier with another, best give it to Snufkin. Once Moomintroll realizes Snufkin has forgotten him, he will come running into the arms of the one you believe is best for him, if you are correct.”

“Wouldn’t it be a better idea to give it to both of them? So they forget each other?”

“No. This brew will only affect one. Giving someone only half will make it ineffective.Every drop must be consumed or it’s useless. Understand?”

“Yes. But what if Moomin finds out? Is there a counter brew?”

“Every brew I make, I can make the counterbrew for it. But I don’t have the ingredients for it, nor do I plan to get them right now. If Moomin comes by and wants to get them himself, so be it. By then, you hope he will be with someone else, correct?”

“And if he asks you if Snufkin was given this?”

“I don’t disclose who I give brews to.”

“Thank you.” The cloaked one headed for the door. Soon, the courtship of the two would be broken. Moomin would finally be with someone he deserved, who would stay in the valley with him and keep his needs ahead of their own.

Alicia looked to the cloaked figure. She had been silent on the other side of the cottage, organizing some of the books and ingredients. “Who do you think they were talking about, Grandmother? I mean, isn’t Moomin the happiest with Snufkin? Who do they think Moomin should be with?”

The elderly witch went back to her business with her spellbooks. “I believe they would like Moomin to be with that Snorkmaiden girl. She’s the only one I can recall having such feelings for him.”

“Snorkmaiden? But.. she wouldn’t do something like this just for his affection…”Alicia looked out the window to the cloaked figure walking down the path, disappearing into the dense trees. “Would she?”. Alicia had known Snorkmaiden since they were kids, meeting when the young witch and her grandmother had moved into the woods just outside the valley. She knew Snorkmaiden was quite fond of Moomin. But, the female snork wasn’t the only one Alicia was close to. She had gotten to know Snufkin as well over the years as well as Moomin. She could see from how they acted towards each other- even as kids- that they had something special that went beyond that of a best friendship.

“How do you know it was Snorkmaiden? Perhaps it was someone else…” Usually the voice would give away who it was, but the one who had just come in could’ve been disguising their voice. It was one Alicia thought she had heard before, but couldn’t pinpoint who it was.

“But who else would want to interfere with their courtship?”

\---

Down the path, the client looked over the vile in their hand. They knew this was a dirty thing to do, but goodness Snorkmaiden deserved to be happy! And they knew her dream was to be with Moomintroll- which would’ve come true if he hadn’t learned of the courtship that previous autumn. If _he_ hadn’t gotten in the way. The mumrik had no business interfering with the plan, another reason he wasn’t good for Moomin. He should’ve been a good friend and just accepted Moomin was going to be courting a lady like Snorkmaiden. But he had to be a drama king and run from the valley, with Moomin going after him. The cloaked one wondered if things would be different if Moomin stayed behind. Perhaps Snufkin wouldn’t of come back- and Moomin would probably be with Snorkmaiden.

They tapped the vile on their palm. Now, which one to give it to? They knew that they had brought up the possibility of Moomin forgetting Snorkmaiden, with him surely loving her more than his love for Snufkin. But, there was a chance they were wrong, and Moomin would forget Snufkin. Without Moomin, Snufkin had no reason to be in the valley and thus wouldn’t come between the two true lovers. But, if Snufkin were to drink it and forget Moomin, then as the witch said- Moomin would run into Snorkmaiden’s waiting embrace, seeking comfort after being forgotten. Snufkin would forget why he stayed in the valley and leave. Either way, there was a good chance the vagabond would be gone from the equation. Or, perhaps they would surprise themself and not know who had been the one to drink it. 

They knew time was precious for this plan, but it was quite late. Perhaps it was a little hasty to act now. This could wait a few days while they thought it over. But there was also the question- what to put it in? They took off the cork and took a small sniff of the concoction. It smelled quite sweet. Perhaps the witch made it this way so whoever drank it didn’t suspect anything. But, they couldn’t just hand the vile over to Snufkin or Moomin and tell them to drink it. That would be too suspicious. It should be mixed with something. A food? No, there was a chance they wouldn’t get every last drop, and the sweet taste would be off putting. This was making their head hurt. When they got home, they were having a cup of tea to clear their head.

Hold on...Tea...perhaps that was the answer...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay but the sequel is finally here! Ill try to update more, but just became busy and had no time to write. Thank you for all the support


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about this delay/hiatus! I became very busy with stuff and hadn't felt like writing. But I got an urge recently to continue some of my fics on here as well as make new ones. I'll try to update more often. Thank you all so much for the wait!

“Now,” Pappa said, putting the record back into the player and placing the needle over it. A familiar tune echoed from the horn as he held a hand to Moominmamma. She took it lightly and smiled to her husband as he pulled her close. A hand went around her waist as she placed her free hand onto Pappa’s shoulder. The two began a slow waltz to the music, steps they memorized in their heads as their audience- Moomin and Snufkin, watched. “Remember, one leads, the other follows. You step as so.” Pappa began to count, his voice almost booming over the music. Mamma took her hand off his shoulder and held it to his lips. He quieted down as she took over the counting, sounding graceful like the music that played. They waltzed around for another minutes before Pappa reached over to lift the needle, stopping the music. “Think you boys learned it by now?”

Snufkin hopped from his seat on top of the sofa, holding out a hand to Moomintroll. “Shall we, my dove?” He spoke softly with a smile. Moomin’s cheeks flushed to a pink, causing the mumrik to give a gentle laugh. He loved how his nickname for his boyfriend still made him flustered. It was cute. Moomin nodded and took his paw into his own, Snufkin helping him up. They had watched Moominmamma and Moominpappa so many times, but they still had one problem before they even started.

“Do...you want to lead this time?” Moomin asked. Pappa had said many times during Moomin’s childhood that in dancing, the male will lead as his lady follows. Pappa, the old fashioned moomin he was, tended to forget the fact that his son would be dancing with another male and not a lady. Pappa himself had not learned how to dance with his fellow man, or thought of a lady dancing with another. The courtship had taken him a bit of time to adjust to, as he would admit he was not fond of the idea at first. He had been raised on the idea that males courted ladies. But, he saw just how much the two loved one another, and his blessing had been given.

Snufkin smiled. “If you would like me to.” He placed a paw to Moomin’s waist as Moomin put his onto Snufkin’s shoulder. Pappa started the music again as Snufkin lead the waltz, Moomin following his steps. Snufkin kept looking to his feet, making sure he was doing it correctly. Moomin took his paw off his boyfriend’s shoulder for a moment to life the mumrik’s chin up to meet gazes. Snufkin smiled and kept his eyes on Moomin. Everything else seemed to disappear around them as they danced, the music was barely audible as Snufkin could only hear his heart beat loudly, pounding in his ears.He never thought he’d be like this- practicing a romantic dance with the one he loved the most. Sure, they had danced together before growing up. But this time, it was different. It was practice.

Snufkin snapped back to reality as he lost his footing, tripping over himself as he fell backwards. Moomin tried to catch him, but Snufkin ended up pulling him down. The two groaned from pain before catching glances, soon breaking out into laughter as they gently put their foreheads together. The music stopped as they looked up to the older moomins looking down to them. Mamma had a smile on her face as Pappa let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head, fingertips resting on his forehead, his other hand holding his elbow as he shook his head, eyes closed and brows furrowed in annoyance.

“Now now you two.” Pappa finally said. “You must get this right! I will not have you two making fools of yourself at your first dance! Weddings are a serious manner.”

“Now dear,” Mamma cut in, putting a hand to her husband’s shoulder. “We’ve been through this. They’re only courting now. They haven’t even made things official or even talked about a season.” That was true- the two were only courting, technically not engaged. Though, they might as well be at this point. There were some talks of marriage already, but nothing too serious or set in stone. Both Moomin and Snufkin knew it was going to happen eventually. But they were still young and had only just begun the courting phase. That’s why Mamma and Pappa were so eager to start teaching them different dances- for when the time came. 

Snufkin helped Moomin up and looked to the window. “It’s getting late. I should be going back to my tent.” He looked over to Moomin. “Want to take a short walk before it gets too late?” The moon was already high in the sky and the stars were twinkling. The boys usually took a small walk around the valley at night before heading off to sleep. Moomin had asked Snufkin a few times if he wanted to stay in Moominhouse, but Snufkin always politely declined, preferring his small, but cozy tent over the large, inviting home. It was late spring, a little over a year since the two began their relationship. Snufkin, having hibernated with Moomin and his family already, had returned from his Southern trip earlier that year. The winter before, he held off migrating, having already left Moomin for long enough. Hibernating was different for Snufkin, as he found himself unable to stay asleep the entire season. But, all that mattered to him that winter was being next to Moomin. He’d take some time to explore the valley, covered in a winter blanket of white. Too-Ticky kept him company, even she was surprised Snufkin stayed back this year, but understood why. Little My and her sister seemed to sleep off and on, as mymbles tended to do. It wasn’t often a mymble could sleep for three months straight, so he’d occasionally see Little My out in the snow or Mymble Jr. awake with Too-Ticky. As long as he was back in Moominhouse by nightfall and next to Moomin, Snufkin was okay with staying behind.

The two reached Snufkin’s tent after the short walk. Snufkin crawled in and lit the lantern. “Goodnight, Moomintroll.” Snufkin smiled. “See you in the morning.” He wasn’t tired just yet, planning to stay up to do some reading, or writing, or keep himself busy until sleep caught up to him. Moomin nodded and closed up the tent, crossing the bridge and walking back inside. Everything felt like it was going so perfectly- Snufkin and him were together, he didn’t have to worry about him leaving the valley and never coming back, everything felt so right.

But neither knew the drastic turn everything would take.

~~~

A couple days went by and Snufkin was walking around the valley. Moomin was spending the day with MoominMamma making some jam, so Snufkin took the day to roam the valley to get some inspiration for a new spring tune. The bumblebees buzzed by, hopping from flower to flower, their little bodies covered in pollen. Birds in nests chirped above with newly hatched babies waiting for a meal. The breeze had a small chill to it, but it was a welcoming chill.

A voice took Snufkin out of his thoughts. “Snufkin! Oh Snufkin!” Snufkin winced at the voice-Snorkmaiden. Though some time had passed since the incident, he was still wary around the snork girl. She didn’t react the best to his and Moomin’s relationship nor their courtship, having become more distant from their group since then, but she was also becoming less welcome after what happened- Little My distanced herself from Snorkmaiden since learning about the arranged courtship-not that they were super close beforehand. 

But, Snufkin decided to be friendly and looked over to her, giving a small smile with a hat tip. “Snorkmaiden.” He nodded. 

“Oh Snufkin, would you like to come in for some tea?” Snorkmaiden opened the door a bit more. “I just made some. I figured we could talk a little.”

Snufkin shifted nervously. He felt something was up, or this was going to lead to something he’d regret. But, he didn’t want to be rude, and a cup of tea did sound good right now. The chill of the wind only made a nice hot cup of tea sound inviting. 

“I just wanted to apologize for my behavior,” Snorkmaiden explained as she brought in the two cups, handing one to Snufkin. “It was out of line for me to have acted that way. “ She poured the tea out before returning the kettle to the kitchen, coming back with two bowls. “Cream and sugar?”

“Oh no thank you.” Snufkin said quietly, taking a sip. Green tea, vanilla. One of Snufkin’s favorites. Though, it was missing pear-but he wasn’t going to complain. 

“So, how are things?” Snorkmaiden asked as she took a sip. “With you and Moomin.”

“Oh quite well.” Snufkin set the cup on the saucer. “Moominmamma and Moominpappa were teaching us how to dance the other night. You know, just to be ready.”

“I see.” Snorkmaiden said quietly. “Erm, how were your winter travels?”

“Oh good, “Snufkin took another sip. “But I did miss the valley- a little more than usual.” He finished his cup and set it down. “But I was able to get a couple new spring tunes in. And what about yourself? Have a good hibernation?”

“Oh hibernating is hibernating.” Snorkmaiden looked into her cup. “You sleep for a while, you wake up. It’s nothing special.” She eyed his empty cup. “Let me go get you another cup of tea.” She took the empty teacup and went back into the kitchen. She seemed to take a while as Snufkin looked around the small cottage. A thought came to him as Snorkmaiden returned with the drink, handing it back to Snufkin.

“Where’s Snork?” He asked.

“Oh, he’s somewhere.” Snorkmaiden rolled her eyes. “You know how he is, disappears in his room or somewhere, tinkering with his little inventions or whatever. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” She recalled her older brother in a hurry this morning-something about needing to make a delivery to someone and it couldn’t wait. But that wasn’t really on her mind. She had other matters to tend to.   
  


Snufkin took a sip of his tea, taking a look at it with curiosity, followed by a sniff. “This tastes a little different than before.”

“Oh er- I was running out of the other tea I made, so I mixed it with another. Does it taste alright?”

“Oh yes it’s just- a little sweeter than I thought it would be. What kind of tea is this?”

“It’s a fruit tea I believe. Can’t recall which fruits though. I believe a peach and berry? I’ll have to look when I’m up again.” Snorkmaiden nervously sipped her cup. Snufkin shrugged it off and took another drink.   
  


“Well I’ll have to try to make this myself sometime. It’s actually kind of nice.” It was a little sweeter than Snufkin usually had, but the aroma was pleasant. And again, he was not one to complain about someone else’s tea. The visit with Snorkmaiden wasn’t all that bad, actually. He worried it would be confrontational, or Snorkmaiden trying to convince Snufkin to rethink his courtship. Perhaps she meant what she said- that she actually was sorry about what she had done.

But as he finished his cup of tea, Snufkin felt...strange. A sudden dizziness came over him. He set the cup down with a shaky hand and leaned over, trying to make the feeling go away.

“Snufkin…? Snorkmaiden asked, “You feeling alright?” Her voice sounded hazy as Snufkin shook his head lightly. Even a slight movement made him feel ill.   
  
“I..should be going.” Snufkin managed to get out. As he tried to stand, everything seemed to go dark as he stumbled back, hitting his head as he collapsed to the floor.

“SNUFKIN!” Snorkmaiden cried. She ran to the door, calling out for help. “Somebody! Please help!” Fortunately for her, someone was passing by, hearing her distress.

“Moominmamma! Please help! It’s Snufkin!”

  
  


~~~

Mamma placed the rag over Snufkin’s head, bandaging his head as he remained passed out, letting out a small groan from time to time. 

“Mamma?! Mamma!!”   
  


Moomintroll burst into the room as his mother put a finger to her lips, motioning him to be quiet. “He’s resting dear. He had an incident. He was over at Snorkmaiden’s having tea when he suddenly collapsed. He hit his head pretty hard too.” 

“Snorkmaiden?” What was he doing there? Moomin looked down at the floor with a glare- maybe Snorkmaiden did this. Moominmamma sensed her son’s worry. 

“I think this was an accident dear. She seemed very scared and upset. I don’t think she’d do this intentionally.” That was true, even after what happened, Snorkmaiden was not the sort of girl to physically harm somebody to get what she wanted. Perhaps she had put something in the tea. She wouldn’t do something that drastic! She wouldn’t actually try to poison Snufkin...would she?

Mamma left the room to go downstairs,there was something in her grandmother’s book that could help with bumps and bruises-or in Snufkin’s case, possible concussions. Moomin went to Snufkin’s side and gently put a paw to his face. Snufkin let out another small groan, stirring in his sleep. “Oh Snufkin…” Moomin sighed. He hated to see his boyfriend like this. Mamma had gone to get more fruits for the jams while Moomin had taken a break to go help Pappa with some fishing. Little My had been sent to tell them what happened. Even she seemed worried about him rather than give some sarcastic remark or make a joke about it. Pappa did seem worried, but said Snufkin was probably fine. Moomin on the other hand immediately dropped everything and ran back to the house. He was just relieved Mamma happened to be passing by Snorkmaiden’s. What if nobody had been around? How long would Snufkin had been like that until she found help?

Snufkin started to open his eyes slightly. He slowly sat up, rubbing at his head with a groan, wincing.

“Snufkin! You’re awake!”

The mumrik looked at Moomin, a little startled, before looking around the room-it was as if he didn’t know where he was.

“Snufkin?”

Snufkin looked back at Moomintroll, looking more confused than before. He took a moment before he spoke.

“I’m sorry...I don’t think we’ve met. Who are you?”


End file.
